Project Greenhab is an ongoing research and development initiative to explore life support technologies suitable for the missions at the Mars Society’s remote research stations. Evolving from earlier efforts of the Mars Society’s life support technical task force, the Greenhab project has developed a low-cost greenhouse that is an analog of inflatable structures that might be used in an actual manned mission to Mars. The modular design of the greenhouse has allowed staging of segments at various locations around the country, providing a platform for various research initiatives within the life support context. One such segment, located at the University of Maryland’s Department of Biological Resources Engineering, has been used for prototype engineering, education, and R&D. Prototype engineering began with segment installation in January 2002 and is ongoing as mission support for a similar Greenhab segment at the MDRS in Utah. Research continues at the Maryland segment to develop biologically-based wastewater recycling system, based on living machine technologies, appropriate for Mars Society field simulation sites. Finally, educational opportunities created around the Maryland segment included a graduate course in ecological engineering, providing a successful model of university partnerships with Mars Society research initiatives.

Utilizing Martian Resources